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THE HERO SONS OF UNION (Continued from page 9). armed force for the protection ai defense of the State this compai was reorganized ea,rly in Januar 18??1, and enrolled as Co. "A" of tl 5th S. C. Vols. John Wesley Go was captain when the company e tered the service and was later < succeeded l>y C. L. Beaty. The company probably left Unb District on April 13, 1801, and the must have been quite a demonstrate upon its departure. One present that occasion write us that a ban some flag from the ladies of Unb was presented to the company at t depot by Mrs. Madison Wallace, w afterwards became Mrs. J. Thompsi Hill. This flag was carried to Vi ginia and returned to South Caroli in 18<>4. It is made of dark bl silk, has a tinsel frange and up one side is painted a Palmetto tr and an eagle holding in its beak crimson streamer bearing the i seription. "The Refuge of Ameriei I ilw*rfrv " I!nnn t Vio nthni* I hn are seven stars and the letters J. Beneath these stars is a crime* streamer on which are the won Our liberty is dearer than our live; The flair bearer was William H. Sa dors. He took care of the tlatr. se it home in 1804, and upon his retu hunjr it up in his home where it 1 mains to this day?the most trea ured thinir he has ever owed. I loved to stand before it and sii battle songs and the hymns that coi forted soldiers in their camp life. The war record of this compa has not yet been written, and the is no data within our reach today. Richard C. Johnson, a younjr ma barely 20, joined this company a served one year before it was re-r ganized and combined with the P; metto Sharpshooters, lie was at th time made lieutenant, and at t death of Captain Beaty became ca tain, lie led the company in bat I and brought it home after the sn VPluliU' Then lor a number of years t company had no officers. Before t 1 **' (APT. "DICK" JOHNSON. Of llie "Johnson Kifles". Co. A. .">th Ui"' s ( V \.r..a i t u " - ? ? ? ? sv 14 ? ? 1 I V 11 lie Enlisted. war with Spain it was ayain re-< ^ranised, offered its services to t government and was sent to Colui Ida where it was encamped for soi titny. was then ordered to Chick muu.ua. and later- on to Jacksonvil l'la. Peace was declared before t company was called to Cuba. Since its return to Union the cot pany had successively as eaptair Hot.. Macbeth Young, the late lath; W. Poster and .1. Frost Walker. Notes on Macbeth Artillery. At Sharpsburg, when Lee's lin wer?? absolutely unsupported a fighting numerical odds of twenty one, the Macbeth Light Artille checked the advance and turned t tide of battle. T. L. I lames, of Jont ville, a member of the ISth Sou Carolina Regiment, who saw tl fight, said that this was the mc gallant act that he saw during t entire four years of the war. () of three shots one of the Macbe guns divided two color-bearers in halves and Mr. Hames said he ss the Hapr tall three times. H. 1.. Seaife, in his "Reminiscence says: "On the crest of a hiirh h just beyond this scene I saw CJe l.ee, almost alone, with his jrlass to his eyes .intently watching I centre that had already been broke The Macbeth had advanced and plar, ed her truns in the trap and was mai taming the position with distintruis ed gallantry, wholly unconscious th the eyes of our great chief we watching her action." I.ike Cornelia, the mother of tl (irachi, when asked to display h jewels. Union county points to h sons. I JOSKIMI SANDKKS. ho Was One of I he lt> ^ i-ar () Hoys. INTRODUCTION TO THE STOR - OF "CRATER" FROM HISTORY OF KERSHAW'S id BRIGADE." iy y, At Petersburg in front of wh; he was afterwards called the "Crater ss were massed Dedlie's, Potter's, Wi n- cox's and Ferrer's Divisions suppor an ed by Ames's. In the forefront wi Ferrer's Divisions of negro troop tin drunk and reeling from the effects re liquor furnished them by the wage on loads. This body of 23,000 men we on under the command of Maj. Gener d- Ord. On the left of Burnside, Wa oi. ren stood with 10,000 men, and ht the rear was stationed the 18 ho Corps. Gen. Sheridan with his cava on ry and Hancock too were there ir- take part in the storming of Peter na burg. Fifty thousand men in all ue make a brave dash for the city?ai on 8,000 lbs. of gun powder to fir ee spring the mine, a Immediately over this mine was E n- liott's Brigade, consisting of the 17t an 2Gth, 34rd, 22nd and 18th South Ca re olina Regiments. At 3:30 o'clock tl R. fuse was lighted, and while the Co on federates lay asleep, all unconscioi Is, of danger, this grand aggregation < j," Grant's army waited with bat n- breath for the fearful explosion th nt 8.000 lbs. of gunpowder under a gre ri, nin was 10 mase. ijul iour o cio< e- came and all was silent. The fu is- had failed. A call was made for le volunteer to go down into the mil ig and relight the fuse. A lieutenai n- and a sergeant bravely stepped fo ward. They groped their way throuj: ny the tunnel?a small lantern in the re hands. They found all silent, dai and sombre?the fuses had all got in, out. Quickly they placed new fuse no lit them and left the gruesome pi ir- Scarcely had they reached a pla< il- of safety when an explosion like at volcano shook the earth?and tl he country round was lit up with a grei p- flash. The earth trembled and sway* Lie ?great masses of the soil went fly in it- into the air, carrying with it me guns and ammunition. Canons ar he carriages were scattered in every <1 lie rection, while the sleeping men wei ? thrown high in the air." Col. F. W. MeMaster writes 'Tl "1 Crater', made by 8,000 pounds of gui I nowder was 135 feet long. 07 fei broad'and ">0 foot deep. Two huodn and seventy-eight men were buried i the debris?18th Regiment, K2 met -2nd Regiment, 170 men, I'egram Battery. 2 2nien. To add to the terror of the sect the enemy with Kit cannons and mo tars began a bombardment jrreati than Fort Sumter was ever Mibjcct< to. ElMoit's Brigade, which was slcei intr directly ovor the mine was pan! stricken and more than 100 men < !tho lv'.h Regiment, covered with dii rushed down. Two or three nob : men asked me for muskets. Son ;! climbed the counter searpe an I mat *j th< ir way to 1'otor-hurg. Xuir.bc .J cf the 17th joined the procession. u saw o .e .soldi'i s latching ht tl ;; counte< searpe like a scared rat. * ;t;i me: lieutenant of to. E. wit hoi hat or coat or shoes ran for dear tli: way down into Ransom's trenche Wlu he c: me to consciousness, 1 cried, 'Whi t! old Morse running!' at immediately returned to his place i line. "Tin same consternation oxis led in the Federal iinc as they saw t! ma es of earth descending, the broke ranks and it took a few mil Lfi utes to restore order." n_ The three corps of the en en: no charged. "The pall of smoke was t great that we could not see the cneir l'^ until they were in a few feet of oi lie V'01'KS? a,1(l ;i lively fusillade was o| ened bv the 17th Regiment, on tl north side of the Crater." !S I saw Starling Ilutto of Co. H., bov of 1 'i, standing on the breas works, firing bis musket at the enem a few yards off with the coolness of veteran, as soon as i reacneu mm 03 dragged him down by the coat ta 11(| and ordered him to shoot from ti . banquette," On the South side of the 'Crate iA a few men under Maj. Shield of tl >s_ 22nd apd Capt. R. E. White of tl ^ 23rd Regiment had a hot time in n :. pelliner the enemy." "Adjutant Times and Capt. Flo> of the l^th Regiment with about : u( men were cut off in the gorge lin jj, They held the line for a few minute Adjutant Times was killed and Cap w Floyd and his men fell back into sorr of the cross ditches and took the .. chances with the 17th Regimen j",, There were .1,000 Yankees in at around the 'Crater' besides those i 'A adjacent portions. There was not roo C in it for another man. It was deat 1 s to advance and death to ret re a j1' Then tb? two Cohorn inortars of ti 1 " leave Haskell brought as near : I1" .70 yards, turned loose their shell- < the 'Crater' with rapid and accural firing. The Yankees at the same lin 11' using 1()4 pieces of cannon attain the works occupied by the Confei |u. crates. Such a scene was never wi nessed before in the history of tl ei. world and will never he witnessc attain. The Confederates had only t cannon and some of those were usi less. When it was over Maj. Cen. R. I Johnson, in his official report, sai "It is believed that for every burn companion they (Confederates) ha\ taken tenfold'vengeance on the ei emy." The Confederate loss was said to 1 not more than 1200 officers and mo while the enemy acknowledge a 1<> of about <>,000. This is said to be .. : a_ 'in. - /' i* i wij iuiv i-Miiiiiiu-, ine v onieuerau captured 1'' ('apt. George it. Lake, Co. B. 22n U' S. C. Vols., says: I "The enemy in our front h:ul t\v lines of work. He had more men i his line nearest our works than \\ had in his front. From this neares line he tunneled to and under I'< gram's salient and deposited in magazine prepared for it not les than four tons of power, some of th officers say it was six tons. We kne they were mining and we sunk shaft on each side of the four-gu battery, ten feet or more deep, an then extended the tunnel some dis tance to our front. We were on Id high hill, however, and the enem 510 feet in our front where they be M W'v/ as i^ty JR Wf?/Mj BBSS' ?hh^| h. ''yjjji^iP r- f^plB I lie Jl># yy.i MM^Kif Jr. *. I E ir k '^i/,!% le s, JAMES BLA * Orderly Sergeant I'ea Rid pe Volunl :? of 5th Keg. S. C. V. a ie lt Ran their work, consequently the ?,I mine was far under the shaft. '? By the explosion of this mine hui areas ol tons of earth were throv back upon the rear line. Co. Dai i- Fleming and his Adjutant Quattl 10 haunt were there only a few feet our left and were buried 30 feet dee >e Their bodies are still there." i- Capt. Lake, with his only lieu et W. .7. I.ake, and 34 enlisted men we *d all buried and of that little band on in the two oflTiecrs and three men we i; caken out of the ground two hou V after the explosion by some brat New Yorkers who worked like bea te ers though for a portion of the tin r- they were under constant fire, r Soon after the captain was made id prisoner, and officer high in cotvnai ordered two soldiers to lake b in |. the rear, believing' that the Confe e- erates would recapture the "Crater :>f as they did. t. They had to cross a plain 510 fe le wide that was raked by rifle and ct to nister. One of the guards was killi le ami the other conducted the pri on i's safely to the headquarters of Gener 1 Patrick, the Provost Marshal. So< ic after they reached Patrick's qua A ters, a staff officer, sent to the fro .it to learn the result qf the battle, iffi fc loped 'back ;*ud -y?Med <prt. s. whipped them." io Patrick said sternly, "I want r id foolishness, sir." in The officer at once answered. Ge i- cii?i, ii >ou wain me iruin, 11 oyie have?whipped?us?like?hell.'' Col. W. II. Wallace said th t whi lie called the 18th Regiment for r 1V view after the explosion of the mi' and the fight at Petersburg . certai |V space was nsigned t<> each compan As the men of each company forn ed into line and took the places a ,0 signed to them Charner Greer, tl . only living representative of Co. j ., stood in the space assigned to h company and with anxious ur -ertaii ,,* ty, looked from right to lei as *a wondering how one pair of ordinal [ feet could ever cover all that groun j| lie was given permission to return 1 u> Union and get up a company. He d this and was made captain. r> 1 ,e Diocese of South Carolina. le Columbia, S. C., Bishop's Hous e. Dec. t'l, li)0:i?Dear Mrs. Clifford: ! 'd ^ 50 I DR. A. W. THOMSON, < ^4 \ P.; j / KK STEEDMAN, tecrs, Jan. 5, 1861. Major in Command t battle of 2nd. Manassas. ir will pive me sincere pleasure to pive you any information in my power n- about my honored friend and Conm cderate comrade, General S. It Gist, ire ile was my General in the war, and e- ' had the honor to succeed the ccmto nana of his Uripade after his death , p. a- Franklin. T knew him well, and . loved him, and indeed, have several * t., times in public print, declared my ^ re 'm'rs.tion for his character as an ( ly officer, and my devotion to him as a j re noble man. rs If you have at hand a copy of "The j ?re Women of t no Gonfederaev." von will v. lind a tribute to him an<l to General , ie Stevens, from my wife. In my ofli- j ial report <>f the Tennessee cam- ( a aign I re!-ted the circumstances of ( id is gallant math (Gist's) and Gen- | tc < ral Cox <r >tes my report in his d- ook on Fra 'din. I have written a , lief sketch of General Gist's Bri- . tide and if you would iik eto do so, j et ou may <y it for preservation. , in i ou Will fa his name referred to, in , 3d onnection ith his services in the ( w. nion and onfedcrate War Records, ( al s follows: (gives references.) ( >n If you 1 >ve access to Vol. 5, Con- ( r- 'derate Military History, put in At- ( ntj ita in l^'.O you will find frequent , iVjJ i_^erence in the chapters relating to } ?~~WyTin MWnssippi, Georgia and Tenid neisee in '<53 and '04. I wrote the chapters of the Volume referred to . from ] to 10, inclusive. In Volume _ 45, page 737 of the 1st series war ' recoi s you will find my account of i his In oic conduct and death, ernbod- t n ied in ny report. T am too much en- < c- gaged ust now to do more than send t ie you th i letter, hut when I can com- l in mand t ie time, I will gladly do any- j y. thing o honor the memory of my : i- dear I. end and comrade, the able and j s- devoted General of our Brigade, who j ie led us o duty in 02, '03 and '04 and < who di"! leading us in one of the ( is bloodii t. battles of our great Confed- 1 n- erate struggle. . if I am, most truly and respectfully, y Ellison Capers. ( 1 j] Some years after the "War between the Sections" in speaking of the Confederate soldiers, Maj. Gen. J Hooker of the U. S. A., said: "Search ( the world over and you will find noth- ( ^ ing like them." ' ?_ ~ 1 Dhief SurKt-on S. C. Division. 1 "HARNER GREER'S STORY OF THE "CRATER. "You want me to tell you abou ny experience in the mine at Peters >urg? Well, I was on duty until 1:3 >'clock in the morning. I had gon nto my "bomb proof" to get m; light's rest. Lieut. Hill was in th 'bomb proof" with me. We wer tound asleep when the shock cam Vhen we woke up, we were 8 fee inder ground. Lieut. Hill was fas ened by a piece of timber and unabl o help me any. We were protecte iomewhat by the timbers of th 'bomb proof." I realized at once tha vhat was done would have to be don juickly and I commenced to dig wit ny bayonet and dug all around firsl ind as the dirt fell I pushed it under leath myself and was in that wa; aised up as I dug. Then I used m .word and dug upwards for dear lifi Nobody but God could ever know th iweetness of the first breath of ai hat came to me with the little open ng that I made in that mass of eartl !t was about 1 o'clock p. m. on a ho summer day and I had been buried a 1:30 in the morning. I then release L?ieut Hill, who at once started ou nto the "Crater." As his body close ;he opening I had made I came nea suffocating. When Lieut. Hill sai he negro troops who filled the "era ;er" he halted and I had to threate ;o kill him to make him get out c ;he opening, so that I could get ail [ was worse scared when I looked ou nto that "crater" than I had bee .vhen I found that I was covered u n flip rri'niinH Tf woe filing *ro troops who were yelling "n luarters, no quarters" and clubbin jvery Confederate they could find, was suffering fearfully from thin for it was a very hot day, but I didn lare come out of my hole in th ground. Lieut Hill was lying flat o .he ground outside and the negroe ;hought he was dead or they woul nave finished him. After a very Ion ;ime some one came along with watc ?I didn't know who he was, but icld up my hand out of the hole an .he fellow put r canteen filled wit water into it. a stayed there unt lbout 3:30 o'clock when the work were taken by Mahone's men. I hear .he negro troops cry out, "There the :ome, there they come" and then <new I was saved. "How did I feel when covered up feet under ground? 1 was scare )ad enough, I can tell you, and I mad 3ome promises then that I have trie to keep. And I reckon the thought c the "girl I loft behind" in old Unio :ounty helped me to do some of the lard digging. "Some of the negro troops wei made prisoners when the Confedei ites recaptured the "crater." Whf ipeame of them? They were put t work carrying out the dead an wounded until night fell and darknes covered the fire-blasted, blood-staii ?d earth. Then? They were put ur ier a guard to be marched to priso luarters', but they never reached tht iestination. The darkness of that tei rible night following close upon tli icels of a more terrible day lias neve tbld its secret." Company 11?Union's "Seed Corn." vvnen fsnerman negan his famou 'March to tlie Sea," South Carol in md already called out every man l? ween the ages of 18 and 45. Mo: soldiers were needed and the onl .hing the State could do to prole< icr homes was to call out the "ol nen" and the boys, thus "robbing, is the enemy said, "the cradle and th yrave." The Male Academy in Ur on was in the hands of D. A. Towi >end, a capable teacher and a man t character. In the spring of 1862 li lad enlisted in the Confederate arm ind was stationed on James Islam After some time spent in malaris iistricts his health failed, his fathc brought him home and hired a sul stitute for him. In 1864 he came t Union, hoping to regain his .healtl lie was much improved by the u country climate and when this la: lesperate call came from the Stat Jepartment he at once ordered hi services to his country.. A company was formed immediate y. The 16 year-old-old boys of th Male Academy and of Union distrh promptly were enrolled and D. / Townsend, the school master, wa jhosen captain. The roll as we hav t from the memory of members c .he company stands thus: ('apt. D. A. Townsend. 1st Lieut. Erastus Thomson. 2nd. Lieut. William Ilobson. 3rd Lieut. James Perry. Sergeant Robert Briggs. Billy Thomson. J. M. Greer. J. G. Long, Sr. J. W. Sanders. Joseph Sanders Maddison Eison. Richard Rochester. Cornelius Jeter. Sims Thomas. Jos. H. McKissick. John McNeace. J. G. Gault. Henry Sartor. Alfred Gault. Henry Sartor. vviinam Tracy. Thomas Legare. Daniel Legare. Jas. H. Rodger. John "Fiddler" Fowler. 1'. P. Hamilton. Horn. J as. Smith. James Garner. Chas. Sims. Jefferson Greer. Harmon. I. Iv. Paulk. William Harris. Thos. Gault. llughey Bentley. Incidents 16-Year-Old Hoys. When the company was on th< ,vay to Cha'rlestor*, the trestle al Mston gave way and the train fel n. "Bud" Crawford was killed in itantly. Some ten or fifteen wer lurt. Capt. Townsend narrowly ea aped death. When the company was down 01 he coast, they were expecting a fighl i certain Jim, lost his voice entirelj jut recovered it as soon as he hear Lee had surrendered. " ' One night when they were out on picket, a little fellow named Jimmy, t killed a cow, he thought it was a i- "panter." 0 When the Yankees were near enough e to be heard by the boys, they would y often call out, "Lie down, ?????, e we're going to pop a cap." e A Columbia gentleman once said to e Gen. Lee: "General, was Sherman, t according ta the rules <of civilized i- warfare justified in burning Columbia e over the heads of the women and child dren when we men were in Virginia o fighting for our rights?" The general t instantly sprang to his feet, eyes e flashing and hand clenched, "No, h Sir," he said, "No, Sir! That was t, not an act of civilized warfare?;t - was the act of a savage." y RECORD OF A 17-YEAR-OLD BOY. e At the age of 17 I enlisted in the r Confederate Army. On August 20, _ 1861, at Yorkville, S. C., I was mus, tered into Co. A, W. H. McCorkle, { Captain, 12th Regiment Gill Dunovan, t Co. L, Maxvy Gregg's Brigade, A. P. (j Hills' Division, Jackson's Corps. [t I was sent to the Camp of Instruction at Lightwood Knot Springs, r seven miles from Columbia, and >v drilled there for two months. I had t. measles, came home and as soon as n I was able, went back to the army and joined the command at Pocotali " pro. I was in the fight at Port Royal ^ Ferry, then guarded the coast, drilled n and lived a soldier's life until our regiment was rushed to Richmond , for the seven days fight. I was in ~ the fight all of one day, marched all night, and was in the fight next day j until about nightfall when I received . a flesh wound in my right arm. I was given a furlough and sent home. As soon as I was well I joined the 1 command at Culpepper C. H., Va. I was in the' battle of Fredericksburg !,lj and volunteered with one other member of Co. A in Battalion of Sharpshooters to go on the march to Get' aysburg, reaching there July 1st. I . was in the two days fight and on the J1 next day, July 3rd, I was wounded .j seriously in the right shoulder, left 1 on the battlefield, taken prisoner, and d a GILMER C. GREER. e carried to David's Island 25 miles y from New York. t I was there for two months and ' was well treated, was exchanged and ?" tafcen to Richmond Hospital. Thei-e e my arm was resected and four inches i- of the bone taken out. I was in the i- hospital for four months and came >f home January 8, 18G4, not being fit ie for duty at the age of 20 years. I y was placed upon the retired list, af:1. ter reporting at headquarters in Richil mond. sr Gilmer C. Greer. ). ' 1 o Macbeth Light Artillery. i. p The Macbeth Light Artillery was ?t the only artillery company from Un;e ion. It was under the command of is Capt. Robert Boyce. Two of its guns aided in the defeat of the Federals ?- that assaulted our works at Secesle sionville. After this fight the cornet pany was ordered to Virginia, and i. reached there in time to join Lee in is his brilliant campaign that come menced with Cedar Mountain and >f ended with Sharpsburg. The company's baptismal fight was at Graveyard Hill, near Rappahannock Station. It was completely overwhelmed by the superior numbers and the caliber of the enemy's guns, already occupying a superior position. In the Second Manassas the company went into action on the left flank of the Federals, and, in the lanmia/VA fI ~ 1 * 1 * * \ii ucm. i.unnsireei,, ny me aid of another company, in less than ten minutes thrice broke the triple columns of the enemy, marching in overwhelming numbers against Jackson's battle-thinned lines. At Sharpsburg the Macbeth was left unsupported on (Continued on page 11). I ' *4 /' i " ' ' f *A I _ n CAPT. DAN. A. TOWNSEND, t, Who in 1864 bed His 16 Year Old r, Hoys From the School ltoom to d the Battle Field.